(Oh, and when I went to see The Merchant of Venice last year at Stratford-upon-Avon, the opening scene was set in .... Las Vegas!, and, actually, the whole thing got darker and darker as the play went on (as it should). Patrick Stewart was great as Shylock, and there was one laugh-out-loud moment: Lorenzo and Jessica were at a masks-and-disguises party before setting off to Belmont. He was dressed as Batman and when Jessica said that she was going to be disguised as a boy, she threw off her cloak and revealed that she was Robin. A bit vulgar but funny.)

During today's Elixer simulcast they showed a still from Rigotetto and it didn't look promising...what's with this urge to change the time and place in classic opera? OK, Ballo maybe because Verdi sort of had to avoid a diplomatic crisis, but otherwise...

Are they going to be singing it in English? I don't think I've ever heard Rigotetto in anything but Italian.

Friend and I were recalling that some years back Opera Roanoke did Elixer and set it in the hills around Floyd, VA...and it worked pretty well...but then one rural setting is pretty much like any other.

I appreciated today's conventional staging; all round, a charming production. Netrebko was as bouncy as ever, and her singing sounded flawless to me. Nemerino is an entertaining change from "perfect" heroes, although you have to wonder why Adina would fall for such a dim bulb in the first place. Oh well, everyone was happy at the end.

Kay, what makes you think Rigoletto is being sung in English? What did I miss?

Not sure where I got the impression it would be sung in English. Might have been something else they were promoting. Yes, Netrebko was marvelous...the tenor was ok, but not the best Nemorino I've ever heard. And, yes, it might just be that Adina didn't have much to pick from...the sergeant is certainly no prize!

As for why she fell for Nemorino? Well, Dulcomara's elixer is pretty potent stuff

I liked the traditional sets and costumes too; I go to these simulcasts always hoping the setting hasn't been changed to a racecourse or a police department or an ice show or something equally ridiculous. This production satisfied. Polenzani has a lovely pianissimo, and he milked it for all it's worth -- especially in "Una furtiva lagrima". I loved it, ha. The choral and ensemble numbers seemed especially peppy; I was jiving in my seat a few times.